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Christopher Charles Skase (18 September 1948 – 5 August 2001) was an Australian businessman who later became one of his country's most wanted
fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
s, after his business empire crashed spectacularly and he fled to
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
, Spain.


Early life

Skase was born into a wealthy
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
family. His father was Charles Skase, 1948 winner of the Melbourne Sun-Aria, and prominent on-air personality on radio station 3DB, including his role as star of the live-to-air program, ''The Happy Gang'', in the 1950s. Skase was educated at Malvern and Caulfield Grammar Schools.


Career

Skase began his career as a
stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...
, but soon became a finance journalist instead, working at '' The Sun News-Pictorial''. In 1975 he purchased Qintex, a small
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
n company. By 1980 he was executive chairman of Hardy Brothers jewellers. Skase slowly developed Qintex and, over several years, turned it into one of Australia's larger corporations. In March 1981 as chairman, Skase announced that the company had acquired a 5.89 per cent interest in regional television and radio operator Victorian Broadcasting Network Ltd. By the late 1980s, the Qintex group was worth A$1.5 billion. Skase owned five resorts as well as interests in the Seven television network and the
Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Bears were a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, now known as the Brisbane Lions. Granted a Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL), licence in 1986, ...
football club. On the eve of the 1990 economic recession, his two Mirage resorts in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
were among the largest in the country and one of them, the Mirage Port Douglas Resort, played a key role in putting the formerly small town of Port Douglas on the international tourist map. Skase became known for his displays of wealth, with a lavish 40th birthday party in 1988, and a company Christmas party that cost $450,000. In one particular incident, he had his private jet fly from Port Douglas to
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
to pick up a dress for his wife, Pixie.


Downfall

By 1989, interest rates had risen, an attempt to buy the
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
film studios fell through, and Skase was forced to sell half of his resorts to Japanese investors. In the months that followed, it became clear that Skase and the Qintex group had overextended themselves. According to a 1998 report by ABC program ''
Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...
'', Skase had begun obtaining and moving money into foreign bank accounts in July 1989. Despite efforts lasting more than a decade, Max Donnelly, the creditors' trustee, was unable to trace much of the missing money. At a meeting in October, Skase began to fall out with the Qintex board. He demanded that the board pay $13.5 million to a private company that he owned. The board refused to ratify the payment, but soon discovered that the payment had already been made. Skase then demanded the board give him a pay rise, and threatened to resign if he did not receive it. The board refused, with several members themselves threatening to resign. One of the directors reported the incident to the Australian Securities Commission. The creditors moved in, and Qintex collapsed. Skase was forced to sell the Seven Network for a tiny portion of what he had paid for it. In the end, Skase was more than $700 million in debt. He began to parcel up his remaining wealth, including more than $900,000 worth of antiques and furniture.


Exile to Spain

He was charged with improperly using his position to obtain management fees, briefly arrested and spent a night in jail. However, he was subsequently released and allowed to regain his passport. He promptly fled the country. His discovery on the Spanish island of
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
in 1991 by the ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'' sparked intense media interest. In 1994, the Australian Securities Commission assembled a case against Skase, with the assistance of former Skase associate Lawrence Van der Plaat, and began to chase him in earnest. Throughout the 1990s, successive Australian governments, in combination with Max Donnelly, attempted to have Skase extradited from Spain, with no success. Skase claimed that he was unable to travel due to a life-threatening lung condition. This was disputed by the Australian government, who released a video filmed by some Australian tourists, which featured Skase walking easily on a local beach. During this period, Skase also attempted to build a new business empire, and continued to live in a multimillion-dollar mansion. In one incident, television personality Andrew Denton organized a public subscription to hire a bounty hunter to kidnap Skase. However, after raising $250,000 the idea was called off on legal advice. In May 1998, the Australian government canceled Skase's passport. Skase was ordered to leave Majorca by 23 July, but lodged an appeal. The extradition process was still tied up in the courts when, the following month, he became a citizen of
Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
. At this point, numerous commentators suggested that the chase was over, and that there was nothing more that could be done to bring Skase back to Australia.


Personal life

Skase was married to Pixie Skase. She remained in exile in Dominica until returning to Melbourne in 2008.After 17 years in exile, Pixie Skase is returning to Melbourne
''
Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...
'' 19 December 2008
Pixie Skase died in Melbourne on 15 November 2024, aged 83.


Death

By 2001, both the Australian government and Donnelly were starting to grow weary of the large costs of continuing the chase for Skase with $3 million having been spent. Nevertheless, there was renewed speculation in January that Skase would soon be deported from Spainin which case it would have been legally possible to bring him back to Australia, with which Dominica had an extradition treaty. However, he became ill and died of
stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...
in Majorca on 5 August 2001, before any further proceedings had taken place.Christopher Skase; Fugitive Businessman Wanted in Australia
''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' 7 August 2001


In popular culture

A satirical 2001 film, '' Let's Get Skase'', is based on an invented plot to kidnap Christopher Skase in Majorca. TISM bassist Jock Cheese's solo album ''Platter'' features the song "Totally Addicted to Skase", whose title parodies " Addicted to Bass", about the media coverage of the chase for Skase.


References


Further reading

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skase, Christopher 1948 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Australian businesspeople Australian expatriates in Spain Australian fraudsters Confidence tricksters Corporate raiders Criminals from Melbourne Deaths from stomach cancer in Spain Fugitive financiers People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Businesspeople from Melbourne Fugitives wanted by Australia Naturalized citizens of Dominica